With Formula One television audiences plummeting in Spain and Italy, BBC Television bosses can hardly believe their luck. McLaren-Mercedes have confirmed the dream team of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button at the end of a year in which the British broadcaster saw a 16% rise in viewing figures over ITV's final year in 2008. Now they can look forward to more of the same next season.

On paper, this is a perfect scenario for all concerned as the team from Woking in Surrey celebrate having the two most recent world champions on board, both of them British. But Martin Whitmarsh, the team principal, will have his work cut out ensuring the McLaren ship steers clear of potentially choppy waters.

Whitmarsh is no stranger to controversy, having been faced with the so‑called "Liargate" scandal within weeks of taking over team leadership at the beginning of the year. The fact that he subsequently presided over an impressive comeback as the team put the controversy behind them and, at the same time, turned a bad car into a winner, leaves Whitmarsh qualified to deal with any discontent that may threaten to boil over as the 20‑race season follows its relentless course.

The most obvious assumption is that Button will be ill-at-ease, at least initially, within a team that Hamilton has rightly made his own during the past three seasons. However, while the McLaren management may bend over backwards to ensure Button has parity, Whitmarsh may need to keep an eye out for restlessness emerging when he least expects it from the opposite side of the garage. Hamilton has been the de facto No1, a role assumed in 2007 as he dealt with Fernando Alonso with surprising ease. He may have to become accustomed to a change in his perceived status.

If Button's smooth driving style gains him the upper hand now that refuelling is banned, Hamilton's discomfort may be exacerbated by Button's side of the garage uniting behind their man after struggling with two very different drivers, one of whom, Alonso, barely gave them the time of day.

Assuming Button inherits the same group of mechanics who worked tirelessly for two years with Heikki Kovalainen, he will prove to be the ideal substitute for the driver Hamilton referred to as "one of the nicest human beings I've ever met". The difference is, if Button so much as shows a hint of winning races, something not experienced on that side of the garage since Kovalainen's single victory in August 2008, his group of mechanics and technicians will put Hamilton's wide-spread popularity to an interesting test.

Button's easy-going style must come, at least in part, from John Button, a constant smiling presence at the races in the same way that Anthony Hamilton supports his son's every move. The two fathers could not be more different. Whereas Button Snr will be happy to stand quietly to one side, puffing a cheroot and enjoying the occasional glass of red, Anthony Hamilton will continue a much more noticeable hands‑on roll, between stabbing at his iPhone and counting the dollars. It is true that Lewis is very much his own man when in the cockpit and dealing directly with his engineers, but one or two at McLaren remain concerned by his father's direct involvement when the "Liargate" affair hit the headlines.

It will not take Whitmarsh long to notice a difference in parental styles that will not amount to much if the going is smooth. But if push comes to shove later in the year and Button fulfils the promise McLaren hope for, then adopting an equal opportunity policy and allowing his drivers to take points off each other may cause Whitmarsh more difficulty than he bargained for. Nice problems for any team principal to have; but high-profile problems nonetheless.